Insecurities
by Cheese lover1234
Summary: Annabeth Chase has never worried about her looks. But as a teenager, her flaws are more prominent. She is now learning how to deal with being a teenager and what self-loathing is, confidence, and what true beauty really is. *DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BULIMIC, SELF HARMING, OR JUST INSECURE. I LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL*


Her Face

Annabeth Chase was strong. She was a warrior, a fighter, a heroine of Olympus goddammit…so why did she feel so awful? The thing people forget about Annabeth is that she is a girl, a teenage one at that. Yes, she was brave. Yes, she was smart. Her identity was surely and purely the present, punctual, perfect daughter of Athena. Until the day the words thrown at her like shards of glass finally cut her and left her bleeding.

Annabeth Chase had never blinked a blonde eyelash at Drew Tanaka, ever. The Asian beauty had thrown her worst insults at her and Annabeth could care less. She ignored the remarks barely hearing any, and usually continued her life. But one remark from Drew's ruby painted on lips had caught in Annabeth's ear.

"You know, maybe if you weren't so fat you might get a boyfriend!"

The words came with a complementary sneer. Annabeth brushed it off. Whatever. She was a healthy weight….right? The blonde girl shook her head and let to comment go. Drew was a jerk, same-old, and same-old. Annabeth went through her day normally, helping the young ones, and letting herself have a few minutes to chat with Percy and Grover. Her days were busy; and Chiron always made sure she had something to do. Exhausted, she sulked into her cabin. As she leisurely walked in, she passed the ceiling-length mirror.

The mirror had been nothing but a petty object to Annabeth. So what, who cared what she looked like! Warriors don't need to be pretty in battle, just armed with a sharp blade and an even sharper mind. Annabeth had always prided herself on her ability to ignore what people said. But for some reason, not even her fatal flaw could stop her from back tracking and looking in the mirror.

In the few occasions where she engaged in looking at her reflection, Annabeth had paid no mind to anything but tidiness. This time, that was not the case. Annabeth pleaded with herself not to care. She wasn't like this! She was a hero, a role model….she was….she was…

Annabeth tried to get the ugly word out of her swirling thoughts. _Fat. _Subconsciously, Annabeth's eyes flitted to her abdomen. Sure, she wasn't the thinnest stick on the tree. Annabeth smiled at herself, concluding that she was healthy. But she made the mistake of not tearing her eyes away from the mirror. Odd, how the longer she stared at the curly-haired blonde girl staring back at her; the flaws became more obvious and blatant. Annabeth peered at herself, terrified as she felt her self-esteem fade. Her confident feelings were the old red paint on Percy's truck, peeling away, revealing the fragile, rusty metal.

Her eyes searched her face, and the longer she did so, the more flaws appeared. The pimples were sprouting from her forehead, like red stop signs. Her acne scars peppered above her eyebrows, flawing her. Grey eyes, her blessed trait from Athena now had become something to hate. Cold, dark, and dull. She realized the eyes must be the windows for the soul, because her personality mirrored those traits. Her nose was too big, her cheeks were too big, and her growing hate for her looks was too big now too.

Annabeth put her head down. Maybe Drew was right. Annabeth was ugly.

**Hey it's me! I haven't done this in a while, so your thoughts are greatly appreciated. I tried not to make Annabeth to OOC. I tried really hard to make it as true to her character as possible. **

**This story is being based off of some of the things I'm going through now. Being a teenager is tough. I wrote this chapter literally looking at a mirror, so all of Annabeth's insecurities are mine. I hope as I write this, I'll learn to love myself a little more.**

**Also, I know that a lot of you guys too are also hurting, so this is for you too.**


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